


One Bite

by LeeisLeigh



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Annoyed Emma, Attempted Murder - Kind Of, Bickering, Canon Divergence - Season 1 (An Apple Red as Blood), Drama, Enemies to Friends, Regret, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 09:26:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9173569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeeisLeigh/pseuds/LeeisLeigh
Summary: Luckily for Regina Mills, Emma Swan does eat the poisoned apple turnover. Unluckily, all magic does indeed come with a price and the Evil Queen's price is a ghostly Emma, who does not take kindly to her (eternal) sleeping fate.





	

“I do hope you like apples.”

Emma glanced up at the mayor, her eyes then dropping back to the plastic-encased pastry. It did look pretty good. Biting the inside of her lip, she gave a reluctant smile and nodded her thanks.

“So, maybe you can give me a call in the next few days and we can arrange something? For visiting henry, I mean,” Emma looked back at the darker haired woman as she turned to exit the kitchen.

“Very well,” Regina said, almost too lightly, passing the blonde and stepping down the foyer stairs to open the front door for her. If Emma was suspicious of the ‘cordial’ behaviour, she didn’t say, but her face took on an odd expression and the air held a strange tension, one neither woman could ignore. In an effort to interrupt the weird atmosphere, Emma popped the lid off of her (deadly) treat and before Regina could voice her protest, tore off a corner of the golden pastry and popped it into her mouth.

Regina internally screamed ‘not here!’, but it was too late. Emma made a noise of immediate approval at the taste and for one moment, the queen believed her poison apple defunct. But then the sheriff stopped, one foot hovering at the first step down toward the door. Her eyes went wide as her hand came up to her throat. A choked noise sounded behind her lips and her hand absently moved down to her heart.

It was all so quick, but Emma’s eyes searched out Regina’s. Oddly enough, the brunette couldn’t find it in her to smirk as those green eyes bored into hers. She simply watched, expressionless, as panic, betrayal and then a tiny flare of anger lit up in those orbs. Emma managed to utter the word ‘no’, just as her knees gave out from under her and she collapsed on the stairs, body landing harshly, with a resounding thump. The pastry and its box went flying, hitting the skirting boards with a smack and a small splatter of apple. Regina’s eyes flickered to the blob of cooked fruit dropping to her perfectly polished floor, snapping back to the Saviour just in time to see her body go still.

Removing her hand from the door, she didn’t know whether to laugh at her victory, or scowl at the fact that the idiotic blonde had to eat it whilst still in her home, thus leaving her rather suspicious body on the mayor's property.

She stepped towards the blonde, the click of her heels loud in the silence.

“Honestly Miss Swan, you couldn’t have waited until you were back with that infernal roommate of yours, thus saving me the hassle of getting rid of the evidence? Even when cursed, you are a menace.”

She had accepted that Henry would blame her for this either way, but she would have to move Emma if she wanted to avoid the questions of the general townspeople. Dr Whale would have a hard time explaining the apparent ‘death’ as it was, she certainly didn’t need anything bringing her involvement into question.

Any elation at her win was also dimmed by the inevitable struggle she would have with her son over this. Surely, she could convince him, with enough time…? Hideous doubt threatened to overwhelm her, but she brushed it away. Her curse was still intact, she had still won, all was not lost.

It was in that moment, she regretted her loss of Sydney. This would be much easier if she had someone else to do the manual labour. Frowning hard, she assessed the situation. She figured she had at least a few more hours before Henry returned home.

Resolved to leave the blonde out near the Toll Bridge, figuring her (sleeping) death would be attributed to an accident or a fall, whatever the simpletons came up with when she was found. In any case, there was no danger of them waking her. Peering down at her victim, she marveled for a moment at how effective her sleeping curse was, even in this land. Emma’s skin had paled, her breath stopped and her eyes closed shut. The prickly woman certainly had no Prince Charming on hand to wake her. As far as Regina knew, the woman had no one, which suited just fine. Frankly, she was a much better test subject for the poisoned apple than her loved-up mother had been.

Scoffing in disgust at the thoughts of Snow White and lamenting for a moment, that the irritating princess would never fully understand that Regina had done this to her daughter, the queen wrapped her arms under the blonde’s shoulders, pulling her up the steps. She was lighter than expected, although admittedly she was rather thin. Dragging her with impatient breath, Regina managed to get her out of the side door, the exit nearest her car. Ensuring that no one was watching, she opened the boot and after several seriously difficult minutes, got each of the long limbs inside the small space, shutting it with relief. She locked up the house and immediately set out, wanting this over with.

Pulling out of the driveway, she turned in the direction of the Toll Bridge, heart beating a little fast, with excitement, or anxiety, she couldn’t tell.

 

* * *

 

By the time the clock in Regina’s study hit 9pm that night, there had been no news of Emma’s disappearance or discovery reported and the queen couldn’t help but smile with grim satisfaction that she hadn’t yet been missed. Henry had returned in the afternoon and immediately sprinted to his room, as was his daily practice, eating dinner and then reading until bedtime. He had given a half-hearted greeting when she entered the room to ensure he was in bed, rolling over and away from her when she approached in an attempt to kiss him goodnight.

She told herself this would improve when he no longer entertained the false hope of Emma Swan stepping in as his new mother.

Sighing as she flipped through the pages of a rather dreary novel, she considered having a glass of celebratory cider, feeling as if she should honour the day she brought Emma Swan to submission. As she stood up to go retrieve a glass, she turned toward the study door and took a sharp intake of breath, the book falling from her hands and hitting the floor.

Stood in front of her, looking livid and somewhat bedraggled, was Emma Swan.

Regina’s eyes were wide as the blonde’s shoulders shook, her gaze trained on the darker woman in front of her. The queen took a few steps back, her mind racing. How on earth had the damned woman woken up? It was impossible.

However, as Regina backtracked, Emma moved forwards… passing right through the small sofa and coffee table, as if her body wasn’t there at all.

Regina’s mouth dropped. And that’s when Emma finally spoke/yelled, her voice shaking with anger and her ghostly fists clenched.

“Listen to me lady. You’re going to answer one very simple question... and if you lie to me, I’ll know.”

The queen swallowed, hard.

“Did you _kill_ me?”

 

 

**TBC**

**Author's Note:**

> This is simply a little entertainment to stave off the oncoming dread of a busy working week. I hope you find a little enjoyment here.


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